In a photo shot on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012, a dog breaks free of a trapping net in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

(Newser)
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People aren't the only victims of Detroit's prolonged downward spiral. The depopulated city is crawling with stray dogs, with as many as 50,000 believed to be roaming the streets, Bloomberg reports. Few of the dogs are feral; most were abandoned in one manner or another by human owners. Pit bulls are the most common breed, thanks to the popularity of dog fighting.

Detroit's three animal shelters are overwhelmed, taking in only about 15,000 animals a year. That's left many of the animals to take shelter in the 70,000 vacant buildings dotting the city; packs of as many as 20 have been found in some homes. "The suffering of animals goes hand in hand with the suffering of people," observes a Humane Society rep. She says that on her visit to Detroit, it looked "almost apocalyptic, where there are no businesses, nothing except people in houses and dogs running around."